Class-7 Chapter-3 Fibre to Fabric

 

Fibre to Fabric

Cloth is one of our basic needs. Cloth protects us from heat, cold, rain, dust, insects, etc. Clothes also make one civilized and smart. Clothes are made of cloth. Cloth is also known as fabric. Fabric is made of fiber.

Types of Fibre 

There are two types of fibre, viz. natural and man-made.

Natural fibers: Natural fibers are obtained from plants and animals; such as jute, cotton, wool, silk, etc.

Man-made fibers/ artificial/synthetic : Fibers that are synthesized in laboratory are called man- made fiber, such as terrylene, terry-cotton, acrylic, etc.

Types of Natural fiber:

Natural fibers can be classified into two types – Plant fiber and Animal fiber.

Plant Fiber: Fiber obtained from plants is called plant fiber. For example – cotton, jute, flex, etc.

Animal Fiber: Fiber obtained from animals is called animal fiber. For example: wool and silk.

WOOL

·  There are many animals that bear a thick coat of hair on their body. Such animals generally live-in cold climates.

·  Thick coat of hair over the body of such animals’ traps lot of air and keeps them warm as air is a bad conductor of heat.

·   It prevents the warmth of the body from escaping and also prevents the coldness of the surroundings from entering. Thus, thick layer of hair over their body protects them from harsh cold.

·  Angora wool is obtained from Angora Goats. Angora Goats are found in hilly regions, such as Jammu and Kashmir.

·   Pashmina wool is obtained  from Pashmina Goats.

·   Yak wool is obtained commonly in Tibet and Laddakh.

·   Alpaca and Llama are other animals that give wool. Selective breeding and rearing of sheep: Some breeds of sheep bear only a coat of fine hair. Such animals are reared by selective breeding.

·   Selective breeding is the process to obtain animals or plants having special characteristics.

    In India, sheep are reared generally in the sates of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, or the plains of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

 Process to obtain wool from sheep:There are some steps are followed to obtain wool from sheep or other wool bearing animals:-

Step 1: Shearing: Sheep shearing is the process by which the woollen fleece of a sheep is cut off. 

Step 2: Scouring: Fleece, after shearing, is washed properly to remove dirt and grease. The washing of fleece; after shearing; is called scouring.

 Step 3: Sorting: After scouring, fleece is sorted according to texture. This process is called sorting.

 Step 4: After sorting, fluffy fibers called burr are picked out from hair. Burr is the fiber that gives wool.

 Step 5: Dyeing: After sorting and picking out of burrs, these are dyed in desired colors.

Step 6: Spinning: The fibers are then straightened, combed and rolled into yarn. this process is called spinning.

Types of silk- Tassar silk, munga silk, kosa silk are the most commonly known silk varieties. 

The most common silk moth among all is the mulberry silk moth which is soft, lustrous, and elastic and can be dyed in to beautiful colours.

 

The Process of obtaining Silk from the Silkworms- 

Seri-culture -Rearing of Silkworms to obtain silk from them. in order to get silk 

·    Rearing: the silkworm farmers buy the eggs of the Silk moth and looking after to raise them

·   
These eggs are generally large in numbers as a single silk about 100 eggs at a time. moth can lay these   eggs   are    stored   in   an environment  having  an  appropriate temperature, humidity and hygienic conditions.

·  In order to hatch the larvae ( also known as caterpillar) out of the eggs are heated.

·  They are then kept in a bamboo tray.

·   This process is conducted generally when the fresh leaves appear on the Mulberry trees so that the Caterpillar can get enough feed.

·  The Caterpillar feeds for around 25 to 30 days and then moves into a chamber in the tray to build a cocoon.

Processing of Silk

·   Firstly, as the cocoons are acquired they are kept under the sun or boiled so that the Silk fibres can separate out from them.

·  Then, the reeling of the silk takes place. It is a process in which the cocoon’s threads are processed to be used as silk.

·  The silk fibres thus obtained are drawn and rolled into thread